Texas' tab for YFZ ranch raid tops $14 million

Texas' tab for YFZ ranch raid tops $14 million

http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/699646.html

AUSTIN -- The state's tab for operations associated with the roundup of
more than 460 youngsters from a polygamist sect's ranch in West Texas
has already topped $14 million and a chunk of invoices for such expenses
as overtime, travel and professional services have yet to be submitted,
newly released records show.

A Star-Telegram review of more than 400 pages of invoices, travel
receipts and state agency e-mails and spreadsheets obtained this week
under state open records laws show that officials expect to pay more
than $7 million for litigation stemming from the early April raid on the
YFZ (Yearning For Zion) Ranch near Eldorado owned by the Fundamentalist
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

The Texas Attorney General Office is also being billed $110,000 for
expenses related to the conducting of DNA testing on adults and children
from the sect in an effort to positively identify the parents of every
child who had been taken into custody.

The costs add up

The raid on the YFZ Ranch sparked a legal skirmish that first resulted
in a state district judge in San Angelo awarding Child Protective
Services temporary custody of the children followed by the ruling by the
Texas Supreme Court that resulted in the children being returned to
their parents.

But the raid also put in place a hastily arranged plan to provide first
for the mass-shelter care for the children at centers in San Angelo, and
then at numerous foster care facilities around the state. The roundup
also forced a small army of CPS caseworkers, law enforcement officers,
private volunteers and legal teams into action at both Tom Green and
Schleicher counties and in Austin.

Even though the state’s highest court ruled that officials had
overstepped their authority in the mass roundup, Texas officials have
maintained that they had uncovered clear evidence that the youngsters in
the compound where teenage girls marry much older men were in imminent
danger of abuse. And a spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Perry, who has defended
the state’s action, insisted that the cost to taxpayers is justified.

"Any action taken to protect children is never misguided," said Krista
Piferrer, Perry’s deputy press secretary.

Squeezing dollars

The documents released through the Texas Attorney General’s Office and
the governor’s office show that state employees who were sent to
Eldorado and San Angelo stayed mostly in moderately priced hotels such
as La Quinta and Rodeway Inn. In many cases, employees sent e-mails to
supervisors seeking permission before extending their stays or traveling
between San Angelo and Eldorado.

Employees who wished to rent automobiles submitted forms showing that
the rentals would cost the state less than if they simply drove their
vehicles and were reimbursed for the mileage.

Litigation and facilities

The costs associated with legal work involving the custody of the
children and potential criminal charges accounted for the bulk of the
state spending to date, the documents show. The state expects to pay
nearly $4.5 million in attorney’s fees, including for both lawyers
representing the state's interests and lawyers appointed by the courts
to assure that the children’s rights were safeguarded.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars are earmarked for such expenses as
expert witnesses, legal support personnel, office supplies and for
visiting judges.

Fees for equipment, overtime pay, travel expenses, mostly for employees
of the state’s protective services agencies, appear to be the second
largest share of the outlays to date. The state will pay about $2.4
million for the renting of buses and for the facilities that housed the
children and some of the mothers early on in the operation. State
workers racked up about $1.7 million in overtime and $1.2 million for
travel and expenses during the first month of operations.

The documents also show that the Eldorado raid cost the Texas Department
of Public Safety nearly $1.3 million, including $410,000 for officers’
overtime pay and almost $82,000 for travel.

Some bills outstanding

The documents do not include any of the bills submitted from several
private charity providers that assisted the state with the operations,
and it was unclear late Friday how many invoices from state employees
have yet to be submitted.

"I think the (newly released documents) captured the vast majority of
the overtime and the travel," said Stephanie Goodman, a spokesman for
the state’s Health and Human Services Commission. "We're still working
with the foster care facilities to look at any costs not covered by the
daily rates."

The documents did include e-mails circulated among some of Perry’s top
staffers in response to a May 25 Star-Telegram report about complaints
about delayed reimbursements to some state protective services
employees. The e-mails included "travel voucher talking points"
explaining the process for ensuring prompt reimbursement and expressing
empathy for employees who must pay their ever-rising gasoline bills upfront.

"We have been hearing a few anecdotal stories from staff that they are
feeling the gas price pinch and that their reimbursements are taking too
long," the talking points say before explaining how the reimbursement
policy works.

Here's a breakdown on some of the state's costs associated with removing
children from the YFZ Ranch:

-- Lawyers' fees: $4.5 million

-- Travel for lawyers and staff: $400,000

-- Legal staff: $583,000

-- Overtime for social services agency workers: $1.7 million

-- Overtime for public safety officers: $410,000

-- Travel for social services workers: $1.2 million

-- Travel for public safety officers: $82,000

-- Facilities, vehicles and equipment rental: $2.4 million

Source: Various state agencies
John Moritz reports from the Star-Telegram’s Austin bureau, 512-476-4294.







CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CONSTITUTIONALLY
GUARANTEED LIBERTIES & CIVIL RIGHTS ON A DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER
AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY/CENTRAL
INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WIRETAPPING PROGRAMS....

CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.

every parent should read the free handbook from
connecticut dcf watch..

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com

Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS

*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*

Physical Abuse CPS/Foster care 160, biological Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS/Foster care 112, biological Parents 13
Neglect CPS/Foster care 410, biological Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS/Foster care 14 biological Parents 12
Fatalities CPS/Foster care 6.4, biological Parents 1.5

Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.


CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT
FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON...


BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...